Software testing certifications

CTM REQUIREMENTS:

Two requirements must be satisfied before the CTM certification can be granted. These are:
Formal Education Requirement
Job Experience Requirement
Upon satisfying these two requirements, a candidate shall submit an application to the IIST Chairperson for the certification to be granted. Application forms can be downloaded by clicking the following link: download CTM certification application. The application must be accompanied by payment of the $120 non-refundable graduation fee. This fee covers the cost associated with record-keeping, grading exams, and certification plaque.

Formal Education Requirement:
Course of Study: The total number of training days required is 10 days. All training must be completed in no more than 3 years. Credit for any training will expire 3 years after its completion.
A CTM Candidate must complete at least one day of training in each of the seven areas of the CTM Body of Knowledge. In addition, a CTM candidate must complete 3 days of “elective” training covering any testing or quality topics as fit within the candidate's job responsibilities and interest.
CTM Training: Candidates may select any of the courses offered by IIST that are marked as (CTM) offered at the International Test Managers Weeks or any of the one-day tutorials offered in conjunction with PSQT that are marked as (CTM). However, the course of study must cover all seven areas below.
Written Exam: CTM candidates are required to complete a written exam for each course and pass with a level of performance no less than 80%. For courses conducted by IIST, a candidate is allowed to retake the exam for a second time without having to attend the course again. There will be a charge of $100 for any re-take exams administered. If 80% performance is not achieved on a second attempt, the candidate must retake the course or another course. Please contact sean at sean@iist.org, if you would like to set up a retake exam.
Transfer Credit: A CTM candidate may transfer work performed outside the CTM program for credit towards the CTM certification under any of the following conditions:
A CTM candidate who has been awarded the Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) designation may receive a credit for THREE days as elective training towards the CTM certification.
A CTM candidate who has been awarded the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification may receive a credit for TWO days as elective training towards the CTM certification.
A CTM candidate may receive credit for courses attended by providers other than IIST for a maximum of TWO days as elective training towards the CTM certification. Candidates must submit evidence of successful completion from a recognized training institution along with detailed course material for evaluation and a certificate of completion. Materials must be accompanied by a fee of $25.00 for each course to be evaluated.
Transfer credit is subject to the following rules:
A CTM candidate is allowed to transfer credit only based on one of the three conditions listed above.
The maximum number of training days transferable is three days
Transfer credit can be used only to satisfy elective training and may not be used to satisfy any Body of Knowledge area.

Job Experience Requirement:
In order for the CTM certification to be granted, a candidate must have a total of at least three years working in test projects, including 1 year in a lead or management position in areas relevant to testing. This requirement must be completed by the time CTM is granted. This requirement shall be met by means of a letter of support describing the candidate's specific role and responsibilities over a period of three years or more. The letter must be authored and signed by:
1. The candidate's current or former supervisor/manager 2. The candidate's client or customer (if self-employed) 3. A co-worker with a CTM or now working in a management role.
Multiple sources may be submitted to cover the three year period. Any variation from this requirement must be reviewed and approved by the IIST Chairperson.

CSTP CERTIFICATION REQURIMENT:

Two requirements must be satisfied before the CSTP certification can be granted. These are:
Formal Education Requirement
Job Experience Requirement
Upon satisfying these two requirements, a candidate shall submit an application to the IIST Chairperson for the certification to be granted. Application forms can be obtained by calling the IIST office. The application must be accompanied by payment of the $120 non-refundable graduation fee. This fee covers the cost associated with record-keeping, grading exams, and certification plaque.

Formal Education Requirement:
Candidates must complete a course of study consisting of at least one day in each of seven areas of the Body of knowledge listed below. A minimum of 10 days of education is required to complete the education requirement. The formal education requirement of the certification was designed to provide some flexibility for candidates in designing their own courses of study.
Candidates may select any of the courses offered by IIST that are marked as (CSTP) or any of the one-day tutorials offered in conjunction with PSQT that are marked as (CSTP). However, the course of study must cover all seven areas below. IIST will publish, for each course or tutorial, which areas it covers.
Candidates are required to attend a written exam for each course and pass with a level of performance no less than 80%. At this time, there is only one second chance to re-take the exam. There will be a charge of $100 for any re-take exams administered. Please contact sean@iist.org to set up a re-take exam.
Non-IIST delivered courses may be considered for a maximum of two days towards the certification upon approval of IIST’s chairperson. Candidates must submit evidence of successful completion from a recognized training institution along with detailed course material for evaluation. The fee for this evaluation is $25 per course.
Candidates holding the QAI CSTE or ISTQB certifications may apply to receive TWO days credit toward the CSTP certification and which satisfy the CSTP Body of Knowledge Areas 1 and 2. A CSTP candidate may receive credit for only one of the two certifications. To receive this credit, a CSTP candidate must submit a proof of the award along with the CSTP Certification Application.
The time limit on completing all ten days of training is 5 years.
A certificate of completion of each course will be granted only after attending the course and passing a written exam at the end of the course with a level of performance no less than 80%.

Job Experience Requirement:

To satisfy this requirement, a candidate must demonstrate that he or she has been working in a software test related job for at least one year and have had the opportunity to apply the formal training to their job. This requirement shall be met by means of a letter of support signed by the candidate's supervisor describing the candidate's specific role and responsibilities over a period of one year or more

History Status of ISTQB Syllabi:

1 December 2004, International Software Testing Qualifications Board

At the 2nd level, there are currently two schemes and two syllabi
ASQF (also known as iSQI) Advanced level[i]
ISEB Practitioner Level[ii]
Both are recognised by ISTQB as professional qualifications for testers as they have gained a respect over many years in the testing community.
There is currently no ISTQB agreed 2nd level or advanced level international syllabus.
ISTQB intends that these two 2nd level schemes will be integrated into a future single unified 2nd level "ISTQB Advanced Level" qualification which should supersede both existing schemes.
All existing certificates from either of these schemes will remain valid and recognized.
It is planned to have an international qualification also on 3rd level (Expert Level).
Clarification of the status report
This refers to the updated version of the current Foundation Level syllabus. The amount of changes towards the first version is about 10 per cent. All certificates issued under the current and all previous syllabi will of course remain fully valid. The new Foundation Level syllbus is in its final phase and will soon be released.
The current second-level ISTQB syllabus is the ASQF syllabus as developed by the German Testing Board. From the minutes of the ISTQB board meeting on 2003-09-17:
"Decision about Syllabus: The board unanimously decides that the current versions of the ASQF syllabi become the first versions of the ISTQB syllabi and that those syllabi are to be used as ISTQB syllabi as long as new syllabi are agreed by ISTQB." Therefore, trainings and certifications under this syllabus are already offered all around the world under the title "ISTQB Certified".
After completion of the consolidated syllabus, which will include content from both, ASQF and ISEB, syllabi, all currently issued ISEB Practitioner certificates will remain fully valid and all ASQF und older ISTQB certificates will remain fully valid.
This means that the current ISTQB Advanced Level syllabus (see no. 2, excerpt from minutes) has not undergone the procedure of development by a working party is not the result of the work of ISTQB itself. At the moment, there is a working party at ISTQB level that develops the next, first commonly developed, version of the Advanced Level. Until then, the current Advanced Level syllabus remains in effect. All accreditations and certifications certainly will remain valid when the new Advanced Level syllabus will be presented.
The Advanced Level working party of the ISTQB is currently working on integrating the existing syllabi into the new one.
This means that all ISEB and ASQF certificates will remain valid and recognized by the different certification bodies.
There is an ISTQB working party active that develops a 3rd step of the certification program, the "Expert Level".
[i] developed by German Testing Board and exams run by ASQF/iSQI and SAQ
[ii] developed by UK Board and exams run by ISEB
Last updated: 2007-10-26